Mississippi House passes bill allowing use of marijuana extract to treat epilepsy

JACKSON — House members on Thursday approved legislation allowing the use of a marijuana oil to treat epilepsy but only under strict guidelines.

The legislation said that the marijuana oil can be used only if the cannabidiol comes from the National Center for Natural Products at the University of Mississippi in Oxford and is administered by a physician under guidance from the school's medical center in Jackson.

Republican supporters of the legislation, which was sent to the Senate on a 112-6 vote, stressed that the bill does not crack open the door to medical marijuana use in the state.

"That's why we're limiting the relationship with the patient to the University of Mississippi and the medical center here," Judiciary A Committee chairman Mark Baker, R-Brandon, said during debate on the bill.

The cannabidiol, or CBD, would not contain THC, the active ingredient in marijuana that produces euphoria in users, Baker said.

Under the legislation, physicians treating juvenile epilepsy patients would confer with specialists at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and would obtain the oil from the natural products center at Ole Miss.

Patients' physicians, in conjunction with UMMC doctors, would administer the drug.

According to the National Institutes of Health, research shows cannabidiol helps reduce the frequency of seizures in children with epilepsy.

Rep. Mark Formby, R-Picayune, said his son, who has epilepsy, had suffered three seizures before noon Thursday.

Formby, a conservative Republican, said he supported the legislation because of the hope it offers epilepsy patients and their families.

Still, he said, "I don't want to use our children as science projects."

No House member spoke against the legislation, but several said they needed to be assured the bill did not open the door for widespread medical marijuana use.

"Is there any potential of legalizing marijuana use in Mississippi?" asked Rep. David Myers, D-McComb.

"No," responded Baker.

Legal CBD could be used to treat other illnesses, such as multiple sclerosis, and physicians could use CBD in treating MS, Baker said.

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society website notes that it "supports the rights of people with MS to work with their health care provider to access marijuana for medical purposes in accordance with legal regulations in those states where such use has been approved.

"In addition, the Society believes that more research is needed to better understand the benefits and potential risks of marijuana and its derivatives as a treatment for MS," the website said.